Early stage dcSSc (defined as disease duration < 36 month from thefirst non-Raynaud symptom of SSc) was associated with higher SAA levels compared withlate-stage disease (U = 222, p = 0.08), whereas an opposite trend was seen inpatients with lcSSc (U = 269, p = 0.02) (Fig. 1B). Here, SAA1 is linked to systemic sclerosis.